Applicator of the detachable sleeve type



April 10, 1956 J. MESSMER APPLICATOR OF THE DETACHABLE SLEEVE TYPE Filed May 12, 1953 INVENTOR JOSEPH MESSMER ATTORNEYS United States Patent 2;741 ,o1s- APIPLIGATOR. on THE DET-ACHABLEZ SLEEVE Joseph Messmen-Dmaha, Nehr. Application May 12, 1953, Serial No. 354,521 4 Claims. (Cl; 29-116) This'invention relates to applicators for applying paint and. other coating materials to flatsurfaces and more particularly:to-improvements insuch devices of the roller type including a carrier upon which an applicator tube is removably mounted.

In recent yearsroller-typeapplicators have come into wide-spread use both by commercial andamateur painters partlybecauseof. thevlack of availability of high grade paint brush. materialsand. partly because of the uniformly good resultswhichmay be obtained with devices of this kind without. skillsordinarily requisite to produce comparable results .with brush applicators.

In devices. of. this kind. the carrier is. usually of permanent construction andtheapplicator tube which carries the paint or other coating material is subject to relatively rapid deterioration andmust be removable for cleaning and is often replaced when it is desired to change to a different color of paint or different type of coating material. It is accordingly essential that provision be made to permit easy removal and installation of the applicator tubes upon the carrier. It is also essential in order to obtain satisfactory results that the applicator tube be mounted upon the carrier with suflicient firmness to assure that the applicator tube will roll evenly with the carrier, not slide along the surface to be coated, and will apply substantial uniform pressures along its length.

In view of the recent wide-spread adoption of applicators of this type numerous efforts have been directed toward providing an applicator which satisfies these requirements. For example it has been proposed to employ a contractable sheet metal tube as a part of the carrier for yieldingly mounting the applicator tube. However, it has been found that because of the relatively large area of contact between the carrier and the applicator tube the latter cannot be removed readily from the former particularly after both units have been soaked with paint. It is often necessary even with a construction of this kind to destroy the applicator tube in order to remove it or to soak the entire apparatus in solvent to loosen the paint.

It is accordingly the primary object and purpose of the present invention to overcome the defects of such prior constructions and to provide an improved construction for supporting the applicator tube so that it may be easily removed and replaced and firmly supported in use.

Another object of this inveniton is to provide a painting roller which is of light weight but sturdy structure having suitable bearings which permit smoothness of operation and evenness of rolling.

A further object of the invention is to provide a painting roller which is simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture.

These and various other objects are attained by the construction hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal view of my painting roller, partially in section;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

2,741,013 P en d. Ag a .0.195

Figure 3 is a further transverse sectional 'view talgen on line 3-3 ofFigure'ltand.

Figure 4 is. a view ofthe. roller with the tube removed and the endpieces in section.

Referring'to the drawing the principalcomponents of the painting roller indicated generally at lll, are a roller carrier12 rotatably mounted on a combination roller shaft and handle supporting member 14 andthe outer, applicator tube lfi.

Roller carrier 12 includes two disk-shaped end members 18' each having a small concentric recess 20, in its inner face anda larger concentric recess 22; having a base 24in the opposite face.- A bearing member 2 6.p ref: erably of bronze or hard aluminum; has a tubular portion 28 anda radial flange 30 which respectively fit in recess 20 and'against base 24;

Each, end member 18' has three bores 32 extending through the member inwardly of the periphery Ofthfi inner face and terminating in a counter-sunk portion 34 in the outer face. The bores 32 are preferably disposed at an angle of, 201" 3- degrees with respectto the axis of the roller. Three holes 36 extending, a. little more than halfway through each member 18. are drilled at the same angle as bores 32 and'these six holes,all'of' the same diameterjare positioned at 60 intervalson a common circumference.

Outwardly bowed springsteelor aluminum rods 38 are inserted in holes 36' and longer bowed aluminum rods 40 are inserted through bores 32. The, ends of rods 40 are then riveted as at 42 in counter-sunk portions 34 there by securing end members 18 and rods 38 and- 40 in fixed relation, the rods 38preventing inward movement of the defined by the outer surfaces of bowed rods 38 and 40 is greater than the diameter of end members 18 for a purpose to be discussed later.

The combination roller shaft and handle support 14 includes a straight axle portion 44 which has a threaded end 46 and is provided with stop 48 welded or otherwise fastened to the opposite end. Shaft 14 is curved as at 50 and extends inwardly at 52 parallel to axle 44, curves again at 54 to form handle support 56 having a handle 58 secured thereto midway between the ends of the axle 44.

Axle 44 is inserted through bushings 26 with washers 60 abutting the radial flanges 30 of bushings 26 and nut 62 engaging the threaded end 46 thereby completing the assembly of roller carrier 12.

The applicator tube comprises a tubular member 64 of substantially rigid plastic or any othersuitable material having a lamb skin covering 66 secured to tube 64 by an adhesive which is insoluble in the coating material. As seen in Figure 1 the inside diameter of tube 64 is slightly greater than the outside diameter of end members 18 but is less than the maximum diameter defined by the outer surfaces of rods 38 and 40.

The end members 18 will fit freely within tube 64 which will compress the rods 33 and 40 inwardly thereby creating a firm frictional connection between rods 38 and 40 and the inner surface of tube 64. While this connection is retained because the resilient rods 38 and 40 are compressed within tube 64, the tube can be readily removed even after extended use merely by tapping the unit sharply. The substantially line contact between rods 38 and 40 and the inner surface of tube 64 restricts the area between these members which may become sealed together by dry paint thus obviating the necessity for soaking the unit in a paint solvent to permit removal of the applicator tube. The fact that relatively small areas of the carrier are covered with paint in use also facilitates closing the carrier.

Ordinarily the caked paint may be removed sufliciently to prevent perfect use of the carrier without the use of solvents.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered inall respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A roller carrier for a coating appliance having an applicator tube comprising, a shaft; a pair of end members rotatably mounted in spaced relation on said shaft, said end members having inner and outer surfaces, a plurality of through bores and a plurality of recesses opening in said inner surfaces, said bores and said recesses being inclined with respect to the axis of said shaft; a plurality of resilient rods having their opposite ends received in said recesses; a plurality of additional resilient rods extending between said end members and having their opposite ends extending into said bores and terminating at their outer ends substantially at said outer surfaces of the respective end members; and means preventing movement of said ends of said additional rods toward said inner surfaces, said rods being yieldingly bowed outwardly beyond said end members to provide a resilient support for said tube.

2. A roller carrier for a coating appliance having an applicator tube comprising; a shaft; a pair of discs rotatably 5 mounted in spaced relation on said shaft, said discs having substantially cylindrical peripheral surfaces and substantially flat opposed inner end faces and having a plurality of through bores and a plurality of recesses opening into said inner end faces, said bores and said recesses being arranged alternately adjacent the periphery of said discs and being inclined with respect to the axis of said shaft; a plurality of resilient rods having their opposite ends received in said recesses; a plurality of additional rods extending between said discs and having their opposite ends received in said bores and terminating at their outer ends substantially at the outer faces of said discs; and means preventing movement of said ends of said additional rods toward said inner end faces of said discs, said rods being yieldingly bowed outwardly beyond the peripheral surfaces of said discs to provide a resilient support for said tube.

3. The roller carrier according to claim 2 wherein said bores and said recesses are each inclined at an angle of at least 2 with respect to the axis of said shaft.

4. The roller carrier according to claim 2 wherein said discs are provided with a central cylindrical surface of substantial width adopted to engage bearing means to prevent tilting of said discs and facilitate their free rotation on said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 864,110 Schuyler Aug. 20, 1907 1,479,253 Rivetta Jan. 1, 1924 1,785,563 Schiff Dec. 16, 1930 2,248,716 Markle July 18, 1941 2,542,491 Engel Feb. 20, 1951 2,647,299 Thomas Aug. 4, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 324,494 Italy Feb. 4, 1935 

